Bright's Blog

7 comments from readers

guido
12 August 2008 at 13:20

Bless.

BegbiesEvilTwin
12 August 2008 at 23:19

Speaking of which Brighty, what is going on with all the crap articles we're getting from all these Labour leadership drones?

Martin Bright
14 August 2008 at 11:52

Come, come BET, you'll have to be a bit more specific than that

BegbiesEvilTwin
15 August 2008 at 02:29

TBH I thought my comments on other discussion threads were clear enough.

In terms of it's individuality and credibility the NS gets damaged whenever it permits generic content from senior Labour types. It ends up looking like mindless tub-thumping or mere filler when people in the office have out of ideas. Most probably such articles would not be accepted by individuals of lesser rank so why allow it from the likes of Chris Leslie? If it was down to the proprietors doing some arm-twisting it's probably time to close the magazine down.

Granted the NS has nowhere near the circulation it had in it's heyday but in those circumstances it's even more critical to keep those types of articles at arms length. Once content goes generic you may as well be reading the Metro -at least it's free.

Martin Bright
15 August 2008 at 10:45

Depends what you mean by heydey BET. In 1976 the editor was Anthony Howard who brought on Martin Amis, Julian Barnes etc and the circulation was pretty much the same as it was under John Kampfner.

I think you need to distinguish between material in the magazine and material commissioned for the website, such as the Chris Leslie piece. There is a world of difference between the two types of articles. It is important to have quick-turnaround pieces from all sorts of people, including MPs that appear on the website in response to events. These are not the same as the more considered pieces commissioned for the magazine.

BegbiesEvilTwin
16 August 2008 at 00:49

You're right about the differing heydays. IMHO the NS in the 70's had more impact but that's in part due to we're living in a different era.

We will have to agree to disagree on the way the NS's editorial approach between it's online and print content. In all fairness quick turnaround doesn't have to be generic "Labour PR" stuff. That sort of thing wouldn't go into a paper because an editor would only permit it on a rare exception (ie once or twice a year). Certainly not a handful in just a couple of weeks.

The NS has always been a creature of the Left. Exactly what type of Left has varied depending on varying priorities of the different editors but the one thing to my mind that has made it distinct is the maintaining of it's critical edge in examining the Labour party.

If the NS is looking for that sort of quick content it may be more prudent to make use of guest bloggers (ie real bloggers such as Tim Ireland, etc).

Can I have my online media consultancy fee now or should I just send in an invoice?

Martin Bright
18 August 2008 at 14:04

Interesting thoughts BET. I'll pass them on to the editor of newstatesman.com